This summer Providence plans to remove a two-way bike lane on South Water Street and replace it with an “urban trail” for pedestrians and cyclists on the adjacent sidewalk.
Mayor Brett P. Smiley has said that removing the bike lanes installed under former Mayor Jorge O. Elorza’s administration will ease traffic concerns on South Water.
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Some businesses also complained the bike lanes reduced parking spaces and discouraged some customers. Others have welcomed increased foot traffic.
Elorza, an avid cyclist, helped create miles of new bike lanes in the city before he left office in 2023.
Smiley has neither opposed nor championed bike lanes and sought extensive feedback on the South Water redesign, first announced in June 2024.
